Great Mosque (Ulu Cami)
Great Mosque is one of the masterpieces of Ottoman
architecture and is considered as one of the five most
important sanctuaries of the Islamic world and is also the
biggest and most glorious building in Bursa. Great Mosque,
which is near the Caravanserai area in Atatürk Street is the
most influential building of its time, both from the viewpoint of
the workmanship and the architecture. It is the fourth mosque
built by Sultans in Bursa. Sultan Yıldırım Bayezid conquered
Bulgaria and reached Danuble River and also conquered
Alanya and Tokat and dominated the commerce routes.
This expansion turned Bursa into a silk and velvet commerce
center and a warehouse of spices. This richness made it
possible to construct the Grand Bazaar (Bedesten) and
Yıldırım Hospital (bathhouse and caravanserai). The unique
mosque which was built between the years of 1396-1399 is
the largest mosque in the Turkish history with its inner service
area. The architect of this building was Ali Neccar and the
best masters and artists were involved in its construction at
that time. Great Mosque has two high minarets and twenty
domes similar in size. It is a classical and monumental example
of mosques with multiple columns. There are four portals at
three sides of the mosque. The portal near the place of

the sultan at the east is not used today. The other three
doors are open at all times. The walls of the mosque are
thicker than two meters at some parts and it has a roomy
and spacious serving area for five thousand people. Great
mosque has five segments and each segment has four domes.
All domes were approximately similar in size but the center
dome was constructed hypaethral. The rain, which through
this wire fenced dome, fell in the pool underneath and the
light from the dome illuminated the mosque. Today the dome
is covered with glass and cannot be used to collect rain
water however it is still illuminating the mosque. The water
tank with a fountain right underneath this dome has eighteen
corners and gives a special ambience to the mosque. The
pool can be used for ritual ablution and is one of its kinds.
The pool is covered with glass and this feature illuminates the
mosque with natural light. The reason, which is rumored for
the construction of the pool, is as follows: During the land was
purchased for the mosque an old lady, who was the owner
of the land, refused to sell it. Strong claims and a dream,
she had, convinced her to sell her land. After the land was
purchased, it was decided that one cannot pray on a land
purchased from a women who wasn’t willing to sell her land in
the first place. So a water tank with a fountain was built there.

Great Mosque, which is
one of the oldest mosques
of the Turkish Islamic world,
was constructed with
smooth cutting stones.
To reduce the massive
effect of the thick walls
pointed arches have been
constructed for all domes
at the façades. Every arch
has got double lined two
windows inside. The forms
and sizes of all these
windows are different at
all façades. The mosque
which has two minarets
at the corners of the north façade does not have a final
prayer area. Both of the minarets does not touch the walls
and are risen from the ground. The pedestal is octagonal
and made from marble and the body is made from brick. The
minaret at the eastern corner which is believed got to be
constructed by Çelebi Mehmet is one meter far from the main
outer wall and has a square pedestal. Minaret balconies are
the same in each one and are ornamented brick muqarnas.
When the lead caps were destroyed in the fire in 1889 stone
caps were built that still exist today. During the Ankara War
between the Ottomans and the Mongols the mosque was
damaged first by Timur and then by Karamanoğlu. Çelebi
Mehmet the son of Yıldırım Bayezid got the mosque repaired
and the mosque was opened to service once again in
1421. The domes of the mosque were damaged during the
earthquake of 1855 and were repaired in 1862.

Great Mosque which is a
monumental building has
an extraordinary beautiful
mimbar, hand written
scriptures on the walls, a
pool with a sprinkler in the
middle where it is possible
to perform ablution,
mysterious cross and a Star
of David and magnificent
beauties unique to Great
Mosque. All these features

make Great Mosque a very important
work for the Turkish and Islamic Art.
The minber, produced by Mehmet
the son of Devaklı Abdülaziz, is
composed of interlocking wooden
pieces fitted together without nails;
the woodwork is a masterpiece.
The minber represents the universe.
The solar system is carved into
the wood. The planets are carved
into the wood taking into account
their distance from the sun and
their proportional sizes. During the
era, in which discussions occurred
if the world was round or flat, a
woodworker carving figures not
simply as stars but as planets in the
solar system remarkably corresponds
to scientific knowledge of our time.
Above the entrance of the minber
it is written in Ottoman in golden
letters “Built by Yıldırım Bayezid
Han in 804 Hijri Calendar”. At one
side of the banister of the minber
it is written with sülüs calligraphy
style “the work of Mehmet the son of
Devaklı Abdülaziz”. The signature of
the artist has been noticed recently.
At the eastern part of the minber
there is a cabinet system that
supports the minber composed of a
narrow rectangle, a larger triangle
and a striped cabinet. The carvings
of the solar system on the rectangle
and triangle parts still amaze
visitors. There are 15 ornaments
at the base of the minber (both
at the east and west directions).
Three of them are rectangular and
their meaning are, “start, exit and
first”. The remaining 24 are the
same with their macro form but have
different details. Close columns
with dark colors represent brothers
and sisters. In the patters Üçoklar
represents 12 Turkish Clans and
Bozoklar represents another 12
Turkish Clans. There are 24 Turkish

clans represented on the
minber.
The cloth from Kaaba
hung on the southern wall
is a mystery. It is believed
that the cloth is used as
the first door cover of
the mosque. When Yavuz
Sultan Selim has won
the Mısır campaign and
returned as the caliph with
holy relics he also started
the repairs of Mecca.
The covers of Kaaba
were replaced during the
repairs. During this, the
former cover was sent to
Istanbul and the door
cover of the Kaaba was
sent to Great Mosque as
a gift. Yavuz Sultan Selim
has personally brought the
cover and hung it to the
wall of the Great Mosque.
The cloth which originally
had embroideries of
verses of the Koran made
with pure gold threads
were readable. However
today these verses have
faded and are only
readable under bright
light.
The mahfil of the muezzin
made from hard walnut
tree is located on eight
columns. The mahfil was
built in 1549. The stone
pedestal made in 1815
is another unique work
of art in the mosque. The
upper and lower parts
are carved from a single
marble block.
The verses of the Koran
located at the top and
sides of the mihrab, which
was finished in 1571, was

written by calligraphy masters. The Great Mosque can
be called a calligraphy museum with its forty-five plates
and eighty-seven inscriptions on the walls which were
completed by twenty-one calligraphists. There are nine
different calligraphy characters and every inscription
has a different story. For example it is believed that
Hızır Aleyhisselam prays in front of the “Vav” letter in the
direction of the kiblah and when one happens to pray with
him his wishes will come true. At the same wall there is an
image of the Kaaba and irrespective of the viewing angle
the door of the Kaaba is always looking at the observer.
There are two more water tanks with fountains at the

northern courtyard. These two fountains were damaged
during the fire in 1958. There is a drinking fountain covered
with tiles at the eastern courtyard. Other fountains were
built recently.
Another mystery that hasn’t been solved yet is the ornaments
above the second window at the top of Crown portal.
Similarly the window beside the minaret at the left from the
northern portal has bars shaped as crosses differing from
other bars. Some say that these symbols were made by
non Muslim masters who worked during the repairs after the
earthquake. They have been spotted after the repairs and
have not been taken out and reached until today.

The Secret of the Domes
After the King of Hungary with the support of other European
states besieged Niğbolu Castle the commander of the castle
Doğan Bey asked for help. Before deployment Sultan Yıldırım
Bayezid promised to construct twenty mosques if they win
the war. Yıldırım Bayezid reached Niğbolu very fast and he
gained a great victory with his army. After the victory the
Abbasid Khalif gave the title “Sultan-I İklimi Rum” to Yıldırım
Bayezid which means the Sultan of Anatolia and there after
it fell into a habit to call Ottoman emperors as Sultans. After
Sultan Yıldırım Bayezid returned to Bursa he remembered
his promise. However Emir Sultan recommended that there
should be one mosque with twenty domes instead of twenty
mosques and therefore Sultan Yıldırım Bayezid got Great

Mosque constructed. Every dome in the Great Mosque is
considered to be a single mosque. The mosque was opened
in 1399 during the 100th year of the foundation of the
Ottoman Empire. Somuncu Baba, who was the teacher of one
of the saints of Bursa Hajji Bayram Veli and had offered the
first sermon, was seen at three of the portals of the mosque at
the same time. He had to leave Bursa because his secret was
uncovered. Emir Sultan, Sultan Yıldırım Bayezid and the first
shaykh al-islam of the Ottoman Empire Molla Fenari attended
the first prayer in the mosque. The first imam of the mosque was
Süleyman Çelebi, who remained as the imam of the mosque,
until his death. Süleyman Çelebi was also the author of the
Mawlid, the first muezzin was his Excellency Üftade, who was
the teacher of Aziz Mahmut Hüdai.

Ulu Cami’nin bir özelliği de dini manada ulaştığı
yüksek mertebedir. İslam’da en yüksek mertebeli
ibadethane Mekke’deki Mescid-i Haram’dır
(Kabe). Burayı Mescid-i Nebevi (Medine),
Mescid-i Aksa (Kudüs) ve Mescid-i Emeviye
(Şam) izler. Bu dört caminin ardından mertebe
bakımından 5. sırada Bursa Ulu Cami yer alır.
Ulu Cami Bursa’nın sahip olduğu şaheserlerdendir.
Değeri bilinmeli ve gelecek kuşaklara
aktarılmalıdır.
Another feature of the Great Mosque is the
highly important religious level attained. The most
important religious place is the Masjid al-Haram
(Kaaba) in Mekke. The other important ones
in the order of their importance are Prophet’s
Mosque (Mescid-i Nebevi) (Medine), Golden
Dome Mosque (Mescid-i Aksa) (Jarusalem) and
Umayyad Mosque (Mescid-i Emeviye) (Damascus).
After these four mosques the fifth most important
mosque is the Grand Mosque of Bursa.
The Grand Mosque is a magnificent masterpiece
in Bursa. It should be valued and protected for
future generations.